Reflections
by CellarDoor96
Summary: Vica, an Abra, has sunk deep into depression due to several tragic events, and spends all her time asleep. When she meets a carefree Ditto named Jiro, can he help her see that life is still worth living? Pairing is female Abra and male Ditto. Oneshot.


I do not own Pokemon or the characters' species, but I own the characters.

**Reflections**

Sometimes, things happen that you just can't believe. You hear about them happening, you worry that they'll happen, but you never actually think for one second that they would happen to _you_. I used to think that way, until it happened to me.

My name is Vica. I'm an Abra.

I woke up and looked around myself, surveying my surroundings not with my eyes, but with my mind. There appeared to be no threats in the immediate area. That was good, but then why had I woken up? By my mental clock, it wasn't time for me to eat yet.

I used to be more active, but after the tragedy I took to sleeping all the time except when I was threatened or hungry. Whenever I was awake, I was reminded that I was now alone. Only in my sleep and dreams could I escape that reality.

Yes, I was depressed, and I knew it. I didn't care. Life had already lost all meaning for me; that was probably why I hadn't become a Kadabra yet even though I was already five years old. I didn't care about that, either.

As I studied my surroundings in puzzlement, I tried to figure out why I'd woken up. Maybe something threatening had entered my sensory range, then left it. I was in the middle of a thinly forested area, where there were lots of other Pokemon. Most of them weren't really a threat to me, except the odd Kirlia and the occasional migration of Cubone during their breeding season. But Kirlia are generally not aggressive, being herbivores, and it wasn't Cubone breeding season. So what was it that had disturbed me?

A Starly sang in the branches of the tree above me, making my ears twitch slightly. My back was against the trunk of the tree, my body in a sitting position. I hadn't moved from this spot in maybe a week, having taken up this position after a human forced me to abandon my last sleeping spot. It didn't matter where I slept, though, it was all the same to me.

I continued studying my surroundings with my mind. I hadn't used my eyes for a long time. I didn't want to see the world and be reminded again of my pain.

After maybe a couple minutes, I decided to write off my awakening as restlessness and go back to sleep. Sighing, I cleared my mind and tried to drift away.

I had almost fallen completely asleep when I was jolted awake again. This time I immediately knew what was going on. Scanning the immediate area with my mind, I sensed that there was a large creature there, looking at me.

A human.

I snapped out of my sleepy state, making myself wake up completely. I did _not_ like humans, not in the least because every time I met one it tried to enslave me. I didn't even know why they would want me, I wasn't that strong. Heck, I couldn't do anything but Teleport.

I watched with my mind's eyes as the human walked closer. It had definitely seen me. I couldn't sense its thoughts, but I could tell which way it was looking. I tried to keep calm and not do anything that might give away the fact that I was awake. It was difficult. Just being near a human scared me to death; I had to reign in my urge to run as I tried to search for a safe place to Teleport to. Teleporting took a lot of energy, so I would only get one chance. If I didn't get far enough away, the human might still find me again, but if I went too far away where my senses were less accurate there was the chance of materializing inside of something else. That would be painful for the half second it would take me to die.

The Starly stopped singing and flew away with a rush of wings. The human stopped moving, glancing up at the bird-like Pokemon as it disappeared between the trees. I then found myself wondering why I didn't just let the human capture me. I think it was a male human, I have a hard time differentiating, but he looked nice enough. I really had nothing left to live for, maybe serving a human would give me something to keep me going…

I pushed the thought away. As depressed as I was, the thought of being a human's slave still didn't appeal to me.

I kept concentrating. There were lots of trees around me, but they were relatively far apart. A little distance away was a pond. No, that wouldn't help me. I kept scanning as the human moved closer…

There. A big boulder. It was a good distance away, far enough that I could hide behind it and not be detected.

The human silently produced a small sphere from somewhere. One of those capture devices. I'd often wondered how they worked, but the only ones who knew that were the humans. And I sure as heck wasn't going to ask _them_.

The human threw the sphere. My first thought was that he was sending out one of his own Pokemon to battle me. Then I realized the ball was flying straight at _me_. I quickly collected my thoughts, focused on a spot next to the boulder, and willed myself to Teleport.

Since my eyes weren't open, I didn't see anything, but I felt my body become weightless and break apart. It didn't hurt, but it wasn't exactly pleasant. I was unaware of my surroundings for a split second, not feeling anything, not even the grass I was sitting on or the rough wood of the tree trunk against my back. Then everything was back to normal, only I was in a different location. My back was now supported by the hard surface of the boulder.

I reopened my mind, casting out my sensory net as I scanned my surroundings once more. The human was still where he had been, only I was far enough away that I was having trouble sensing him, which meant I didn't get to see the look on his face. Aw, too bad.

I let out a sigh of relief and put my head back against the boulder, resting it wearily. I was feeling the effects of the Teleportation. I could only hope that no one discovered me here, because while I was safe from that particular human I was relatively exposed to any others who might pass by. To my right, there was only one thin line of trees between me and a path that ran past my hiding place.

I had almost dozed off when, once again, I was brought back to awareness by the arrival of another presence. Immediately I felt my throat tighten in fear. I was helpless in my current state. But I suppressed my panic and probed the area with my mind, trying to ascertain the identity of this threat.

After a few seconds I found it, approaching through the forest. A moment later I identified it. Right away I wished I hadn't. It was the same human from before.

But, when I sensed it, I felt something odd about it. I wasn't sure, but somehow it felt different than it had before. I studied it for a moment before discovering something that was odd, but not what I was feeling. You see, most humans, lacking fur, wear clothes to keep themselves warm. For some reason, this human was not wearing any. Curious.

This human didn't move the same way as the other, either. Its expression and air were different. I didn't know how, but I got the impression that, even though it looked the same as the other one, it wasn't the same person.

As the human neared my hiding place, I tried to decide whether to Teleport again or take a chance and run or just stay where I was. I realized that if I Teleported while still as tired from the last one as I was, I would probably end up dead with parts of me scattered around the forest, and if I ran, I wouldn't get very far because I hadn't used my legs in so long. So I did the only thing I could. I stayed where I was.

The human came closer; within a few moments he would be able to see me. I wasn't sure what he could do to me, since he didn't appear to have any of those metal spheres, unless they were inside his body. Still, that only gave me slight comfort.

Finally the human spotted me and stopped. My heart was beating wildly, my body tensed with nervous energy. I waited to see what the human would do next.

He tilted his head, as if curious, and took a few steps toward me. Not the kind of reaction I expected. I couldn't stand it anymore and did the one thing I had promised myself I would never do: I reached out with my mind and spoke to the human.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked telepathically.

The human blinked, then smiled, moving to stand in front of me. I pressed myself against the boulder to try to keep as far away from him as I could.

"Why would there be anything wrong with me?" he asked. The voice was relatively deep, so I figured my guess of male earlier had been correct. Then again, I wasn't entirely sure this was the same human.

"You don't act like other humans. How come you're not wearing those… clothing things?"

The human smirked. "Because I'm not a human." With that, he flashed and began to shrink and change.

I froze in surprise, watching with my mind's eye as the shape of the former human resolved into that of a small pink blob. It looked at me with two beady eyes, its skin shiny and flexible, appearing almost like clay. My mouth fell open. "You're a Ditto."

The Ditto flashed again, and when it stopped glowing it was an Abra, with gold and purplish-brown fur and a tail stretching out behind it. It spoke telepathically, swiveling its head to look at me even though its eyes were closed. "Yep, that's right." Its telepathic voice sounded deep, so I assumed it was male.

I knew something about Ditto, even though I'd never actually met one before. Apparently they could copy the genetic structure of other life forms. That would explain why it wasn't wearing anything when it was a human; humans' clothing was obviously not part of them, despite how much they wore it.

But then, what was the Ditto copying now? A quick mental scan of the area showed me that there were no other Abra nearby. And I was not a male Abra, so it couldn't be copying me. "…Who is that?" I asked.

"Who is what?"

"I mean, who are you copying?"

He looked down at himself, still without opening his eyes. "Oh, this? This is you."

"You're lying. I'm female."

"Yes, but I can change the genes of things I copy, just a little bit. I chose to make myself male because I just feel more comfortable that way." He shrugged. "What's your name?"

I paused, taking in and accepting his explanation, then answered, "Vica. Why?"

"Hi. My name is Jiro."

"And why the heck would I care? What do you want?" My tail twitched in annoyance.

"I don't know… I just thought I would stop to say hello."

"Well, I could think of better ways to do that than scaring me half to death by turning into a human and— hey! You're not trying to flirt with me, are you?" I said accusingly.

"And what if I were?" he asked innocently.

I stopped in surprise. I hadn't expected him to admit it, but then again he hadn't really admitted it straight out… I swallowed. "Well, then… I suppose I would be flattered."

He grinned. "Pity that I'm really not, then."

Again, I paused for a second before responding. "So… then why _did_ you come talk to me? I'm tired, I want to go to sleep."

"I know. I saw how you handled that human. Good job."

Wow, this Pokemon must have been trying to mess with my mind. I blushed at the compliment, but asked, "How were you watching? I didn't sense anything."

"I was a Starly," was his matter-of-fact answer.

Oh. I'd forgotten momentarily what exactly he was. "You mean, you were that Starly in the tree?"

"Yep."

"…Oh. I feel stupid now."

He sighed. "You know, I've been watching you for a couple of days now, and I've noticed that you seem… sad. You sleep all the time."

"…What?! You were spying on me?!"

He shook his head quickly. "N-no, not really. I've just happened to go by and see you a lot."

I paused. "Oh. But why do I seem sad? What's wrong with sleeping all the time? I'm an Abra, remember."

"How long do you usually sleep in a day?"

"Um…" I did a few calculations. "Twenty three and a half hours…"

"You know there are only twenty four hours in a day, right?"

"Yes…"

"How long do Abra normally sleep in a day?"

I winced. "Seventeen and a half hours. Fine, you win. Maybe I have been sleeping a lot. So what?"

"I saw you crying yesterday."

"You did?" I wasn't really that surprised, but I was a little embarrassed that someone had seen me crying.

He nodded. "Is something wrong?"

I hesitated. Should I tell him? I didn't even know anything about him. But then again… maybe it would be nice to vent. I nodded, sighing. "I… I guess I am depressed. See, my mother was a Kadabra. Her name was Akiko. My father was a Magmar; he liked to explore and wandered around a lot. When he came here he met my mother, and… here I am. But about a year ago he left, and never came back…" I felt tears starting to leak out of my closed eyes as I thought about it; my chest felt heavy. "And then maybe a month ago… my mother was captured by a human." The tears began to flow more freely now, running in little streaks down my face, and I brought my hands up to try and stop them.

Jiro watched, looking like he was unsure what to do. "Oh. …I'm sorry, I didn't know. But… you're all alone now?"

I nodded, feeling extremely embarrassed while burying my face in my hands.

He leaned forward and touched my shoulder with one finger. "Don't worry, cry all you want. I don't mind."

I blushed. "Th-thanks…"

He blushed too. "Don't mention it." Then he stood up, which mildly surprised me since he was an Abra, and moved to sit next to me. I leaned on him for support and cried onto his shoulder. He hesitated, then tentatively put his arm around me.

After a couple of minutes, I stopped crying, my face feeling wet and hot, and then removed myself from his shoulder. I gave him a small smile, wiping away the tears from my face. "Th-thanks for letting me vent, I guess I needed that…"

He nodded, his face a little red, and withdrew his arm. "I don't mind. But… I'm sorry."

"Don't be, it's not your fault." I took a shuddering breath. "I know there's no chance of getting my mother back, but I just wish I knew what happened to my father…"

He looked at me, even though his eyes were still closed, with a thoughtful expression. "You know… I don't think your parents would like that you've given up on life, just because they're gone."

I became angry at that, but stopped myself before I said anything. After taking a deep breath, I asked, "What do _you_ know about them?"

"Nothing. Except that. If your parents really loved you enough to make you miss them that much, they wouldn't want you to be like this."

I considered that, then sighed. "You're right. I guess I am being a bit of a brat, aren't I?"

He only nodded.

I sighed again. "Still, I wish they were here. I miss them, every day… The only time I don't feel the pain of their absence is when I'm asleep… My dreams are my only escape. More than once I've wondered why I bother to keep living…"

"And why do you?"

I shrugged. "I… don't know anymore… I guess it's just my fear of dying that keeps me going…"

He was silent for a few moments. Then he said, "Vica, I want to show you something."

My curiosity was aroused. "What?"

He went still, appearing to concentrate. I watched him with my mind in confusion, wondering what he was doing, until suddenly, with a flash of light, we both disappeared. I felt myself become weightless in the normal feeling of Teleportation, and a moment later I was back to normal.

I gasped in surprise. "What? Where am I?" Immediately I realized it was a stupid question and reached out with my mind to feel my new surroundings. I was only a few yards away from the boulder I'd been at moments before, and was now sitting in front of the small pond. Jiro, still an Abra, was sitting next to me.

He gestured at the water. "Look at the water."

I felt it with my mind. It was… water. "It's just water, so what?"

He shook his head. "No, _look_ at it. With your eyes."

I swallowed. "Um, okay…" The next moment I opened my eyes.

Immediately I was blinded by the light. It was like a blast of pain ran through my head, starting at my eyes. I quickly closed them again, grabbing my head to try in vain to put out the fire inside it. "It hurts…" I moaned.

I couldn't concentrate enough to sense what Jiro was doing, but I heard his voice in my mind. "It does? How long ago did you last open your eyes?"

I tried to think, gritting my teeth against the pain, and responded tersely, "A month. About."

"You haven't opened your eyes in a month?"

The pain was starting to fade slightly, and I could think a little more clearly. "No."

He paused. "Well… try again."

"Are you serious? Do you even know how much that hurt?"

"No, I don't, but you're going to have to open your eyes again sometime…"

I hesitated. "A-alright…" Then I braced myself and opened my eyes again.

Just like before, blinding light blasted into my exposed eyes, spreading like fire up my optical nerves and into my brain. I gasped, unconsciously holding my breath. I could have sworn my head was on fire. I really could have.

Instantly I felt an instinctive urge to close them again, but I didn't. I gritted my teeth, forcing myself to keep my eyes open. The pain just kept getting worse with each passing second. Tears filled my eyes, leaking down my face. I didn't know how much longer I could stand it. After a moment I put my hands in front of my eyes and maneuvered them around until I felt the light and pain decrease, as I apparently cast a shadow over my eyes. It helped, but not by much.

"Don't close them," Jiro told me, his voice coming to me through my haze of blinding light and pain. "It might hurt, but it's worth it to see."

Yeah, it _might_ hurt.

Somehow, his voice helped me. It gave me the strength that I needed to keep my eyes open for the next several seconds until, gradually, the light began to dim. I didn't notice it at first, it was such a slow process, but eventually I realized that the light wasn't quite as bright and the pain wasn't quite as intense as it had been a moment ago.

I dropped my arms, and for a second the light became brighter before dimming again. Jiro's voice came again. "See, you can do it."

Lines began to appear in the whiteness, which gradually sharpened and grew until they were vague shapes. The shapes became darker, the whiteness fading and being replaced by other colors: at first bright greens and blues, which darkened until they more resembled their natural hues. They blurred and ran together, and I couldn't make anything out. I blinked. In the one instant my eyes were shut again, I had to struggle with all my willpower to force them back open. When I did, I could see.

Everything looked brighter than it should, and the light still felt uncomfortable, and my vision was slightly blurred by tears, but I could see. I let out my breath and breathed hard for a while, staring at the horizon. Then I turned my head and looked at Jiro, in his Abra form. He smiled. "You can see now?"

I blinked several more times, bringing my hand up and wiping the tears from my face and eyes. Then I smiled back at him, still trying to control my breathing. "Yes. I can. …Thank you."

He blushed. "I didn't do anything except tell you to open them."

I leaned toward him and hugged him, my breathing starting to slow down as I recovered from that painful experience. "I don't even know who you are, and I just met you a few minutes ago, but you've already helped me so much. Thanks."

He blushed harder, looking like he was feeling a little awkward. Then he gestured at the pond. "Look."

I let go of him and turned my eyes to the pond. For a moment I was blinded by the sunlight reflecting off the water, but then my eyes readjusted and I saw… my reflection. "It's just my reflection."

He nodded, opening his own eyes and glancing at me. "Your eyes are purple," he observed.

I looked at my reflection and saw that he was right. "Yes, they are."

"I think they look pretty."

I blushed, flicking my gaze toward him. "Thank you."

"Keep them open a little more, I like them." He was blushing, too.

"Uh, o-okay… But what did you want me to see in the water?"

He turned his eyes to the water. "Who would you say that was, Vica? Is it your mother?"

I stared at him blankly, then glanced at the pond and saw that it was indeed still my reflection. "Um, no, how would that be my mother?"

He gave a telepathic laugh. "Then who is it?"

"It's me, obviously…" I was confused, trying to figure out if he had a point or if he really _was_ stupid. Or blind. Or both.

"Exactly."

"…What?"

He sighed. "You aren't your mother. Or your father. Or anyone else. That's _you_ reflected in the water there. As long as you're still around you still have a life to lead, and enjoy. You're the one who decides what to do with your own life, not your parents. Yes, they're gone, and you have every right to be sad. But they're not going to come back, no matter how long you mope. You can't change the past; all you can change is the future. Maybe someday you'll see them again. But you know what? It's probably not gonna happen here. If you really want to help them you'll stop feeling sorry for yourself and start doing something about it! While you're alive you might as well _make things happen_!"

I was shocked into silence for several seconds. Finally I swallowed and admitted, "You're right. I _should_ be doing something about it. But I just don't know what. They could be anywhere, Jiro."

"Then look anywhere. And if you can't find them, then keep going with your life. Feeling sorry for yourself isn't going to solve anything." He shook his head. "I'm sorry, but it's the truth."

I nodded. "I know it is. I just… I don't know. I just gave up… But you're right. I'll go start searching for them, and one day I'll find them." I smiled, turning my gaze back to my reflection in the water, which looked back at me calmly, matching my gaze.

Jiro grinned. "See, that's what I'm talking about. And now… I hope you can swim."

I froze in surprise. "Swim?"

The next thing I knew, Jiro reached over to me with one arm and pushed me into the water. I screamed right before my face hit the surface. Then, with a splash, I was underwater.

I automatically shut my eyes, using my mind to find my way around. But the air left my lungs as a storm of bubbles as soon as I hit the water, so I had no oxygen to supply my brain. I tried to suck in more air but only filled my lungs with water. I started panicking, thrashing in the water as I tried to figure out which way was up. I didn't think about anything besides that; I was running completely on instinct. Opening my eyes for a moment revealed only a confusion of bubbles and water and foam around me, and I think I might have seen the muddy bottom of the lake. Water filled my nose and my mouth, and my ears, too.

Then my tail hit something. I twisted around, looking at it, and waited for the bubbles to clear; when they did I could clearly see the mud of the bottom. I reached to it and dug my fingers in, pulling myself to it. I then flipped myself so that my feet were against the bottom of the pond. I crouched, preparing to launch myself upward. My legs protested painfully, not having been used in a long time, but I ignored it. With a quick bend of my knees, I flew upward, hopefully toward the surface. Unless that was really the side of the pond. I couldn't tell which way was up anymore.

To my relief, a moment later my head emerged from the water. I sucked in a breath, choked on it, and coughed out water. Then I took another breath, blinked water from my eyes, and looked up, seeing the edge of the pond. I began to swim in that direction. Yes, I knew how to swim. Sort of.

I reached the edge of the pond a few seconds later and grabbed onto it, bracing my arms and pulling myself onto dry land. I shed water as I did so, it spilled off of my body and ran back into the pond.

I coughed out more water, still on my hands and knees. I must have inhaled gallons. When I could breathe without choking, I wiped away the water that kept running into my eyes and looked up, glancing around. Another Abra was standing further along the pond's edge, a few feet away. My eyes narrowed. Jiro.

I stood up, staring at him angrily throughout the action. He looked back at me, expression blank.

"What the heck did you do that for?!" I demanded, putting my hands on my hips. "You could have killed me."

He gulped. "Um, sorry. But don't worry, I would have gone down there and saved you if you didn't come back up after a while."

"Well, that's a very _kind_ sentiment." My telepathic voice dripped with sarcasm. "But why the heck did you push me over in the first place?!"

He smirked. It was so completely unexpected a change that I faltered for a second. "Look," he said, gesturing at me.

I looked down at myself. All I saw was me, albeit a drenched me. "What?"

He sighed in frustration. "Don't you realize you're standing up?"

I froze, my eyes widening. I _was_ standing up: something I hadn't done in months. As if on cue, my legs gave out and I collapsed, landing on my butt. "Ow."

Jiro grunted. "Oh, well, it's a start. Good job."

I was still feeling stunned. "I was standing."

He nodded.

I snapped out of my daze. "You didn't have to push me into the pond to make me stand, you know."

He shrugged. "I also wanted you to get a little exercise. Sleeping all the time can't be good for you. When was the last time you moved anything besides your arms?"

I thought for a second, before admitting, "A couple months." Then I glared at him. "But you could have at least given me some warning."

"If I did that, you wouldn't have done it." His grin widened.

I grunted. "Fine, whatever." Then I put my hands against the ground and prepared to push myself up. Before I did, though, I glanced up at Jiro. "Hey, could you help me stand up again?"

He blinked. "You want me to push you in the pond again?"

I glared at him in irritation, my tail twitching slightly. "No." I shifted my weight to one arm and held out the other toward him. "I mean, help me up. Please."

"…Ah." He moved next to me and grabbed my arm, pulling me up. I grabbed onto each of his shoulders with my soaked hands, getting him wet as well, as I braced myself against him and stood up. My knees almost gave out anyway even though most of my weight was on Jiro. But I managed to stand up, however painful it was.

I gritted my teeth and gave him a small, pained smile. "Thanks."

He smiled encouragingly. "No problem. I'm sorry I pushed you in the water, by the way."

I nodded. "Good." Then I let go of him with one hand and took an experimental step.

Immediately my legs gave out, and I fell. Before I hit the ground, though, Jiro caught me, wrapping his arms around me. I was stunned for several moments.

"Maybe you shouldn't try to walk yet," he said, kneeling next to me and beginning to lower me slowly to the ground.

I glanced at him and blushed. "Oops. Sorry. Thanks for catching me."

He turned red. "You're welcome." A moment later he placed me gently onto the grassy ground, on my back.

I looked up at him. "You know, I barely know you, and you barely know me, but you still went out of your way to help me. And you really did help me. Thank you."

He sighed in exasperation. "You can thank me by not thanking me, please. Now you're just repeating stuff you already said." He started to stand up again.

On an impulse, I reached up and wrapped my still-wet arms around him, then pulled him down. He stumbled and fell, landing on top of me, and immediately stiffened.

I grinned. "Hi."

He tried to lift himself off of me, but I held onto him. When he realized this, he looked at me; our faces were right next to each other. "Now who's flirting with who?" he said accusingly, but his voice had a teasing note as well.

I giggled and kept one arm wrapped around him, while I used the other to wipe water off my drenched face. "You should be flattered." Then I lifted my head ever so slightly and brought my mouth to his. And kissed him.

His eyes widened for a moment, before he returned the kiss. I closed my eyes in bliss, hugging him tighter. After a few seconds I began to concentrate, gathering my energy, and a moment later my body became weightless and immaterial. A moment after that the sensation disappeared and I was back to normal, still in the same position and still with my mouth locked to Jiro's.

We stayed like that for a long while. Finally, after what seemed to me like only a few seconds, but which may have actually been several minutes, Jiro broke away. I took a deep breath before opening my eyes again. They were still a little sensitive, but after a moment they adjusted.

We were back in the forest, where I knew we would be. I let Jiro stand up again and then sat up myself. I was still soaked with water from my plunge in the lake, and now due to his… contact with me, Jiro was wet, too. Neither of us seemed to mind, though. We were both a little dazed.

Jiro sat down in front of me, a few feet away. We looked at each other silently.

Finally I snapped out of it as a wave of exhaustion washed over me. I blinked and yawned. "Um, I'm tired now, Jiro," I said, glancing at him. "I-I think I'm going to go to sleep. Two Teleports so close to each other took it out of me… and so did your swimming lesson."

He shook his head to clear it, then looked at me. "Huh? Oh, okay. I don't mind. Go ahead."

I nodded in acknowledgement, before lying down on the grass again and stretching myself out. I rolled onto my side and closed my eyes. "Thank you, Jiro. For everything."

I heard a rustle around me, as I sensed him moving to sit next to me. I felt him put one hand on me, on my side, and I blushed. "You're welcome. Good morning, Vica," he said softly.

In that moment, Jiro was a lot of things to me. He was a friend, and a mentor, and a counselor. He was a guardian, my protector. He had an aura of strength that radiated from him. I looked up to him. He was my role model.

Most of all, he was my reflection.

A second later I was asleep.


End file.
